Monday, August 18, 2014

Don't cut your damn hair redux

The best you can say about a woman with short, cropped hair is that she looks almost as good as she does with long hair. Audrey Hepburn was a classic representative of the ingenue who looks impishly sexy with short hair. But long-haired photos of Audrey prove that she looked even better with her tresses out and about for a playful romp.

Given the near-universal preference of men for longer-haired women, it is then a mystery why women chop their hair off. Don’t women want to please men? They do, but cultural and sex ratio shifts can influence how weakly or strongly women feel the need to appease the sexual preferences of men.

The last period short hair styles were widely fashionable on women (as well as flapper dresses which concealed the female form) was the Roaring Twenties, a time of feminism, suffrage, intensified status striving, and growing wealth inequality. Sound familiar?

We can even quantify the amount to which a woman cutting her hair reduces her sexual market value. The difference between going from long hair to chin-length hair reduces a woman's SMV by 15 percent. Going even shorter probably knocks it down another 5 percent.

Just to put it in perspective, that 15-percent reduction is the equivalent of going from a D-cup to completely flat or from skinny to flabby. So, if you're a woman who has ever worn a push-up bra or worked out, keep in mind that cutting your hair off will cancel out all your other efforts to look attractive to men.

Also, as Gavin McInnes points out, short hair is rape:

Cutting your hair short seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe your boyfriend dumped you and you’re looking to reinvent yourself. Maybe you think a “pixie cut” is a cute new look. Maybe you find it empowering to have a zero-maintenance ’do and you want to be free to focus on your work without being hit on all the time. In all cases, you are saying “yes” to yourself and “no” to us. This is perfectly fine if you want to check out of society for the year or so it takes to grow your hair back, but if you’re still horsing around with us, it’s more than unattractive. It’s rape.

38 comments:

Reminds me of an odd statistic. Women with super short hair styles are almost never raped. I am of course referring to Rape-rape and not one of the new definitions that feminists have adopted recently.

The Woman Who Thinks Reducing the Male Population by 90 Percent Will Solve Everything...I believe we must remove men from the community and place them in their own specific sections of society, akin to subsidised or state-funded reservations, so they can be redefined. We can make not only men safer, but women as well. By subsidising said reservations through the state we can provide men with activities, healthcare, entertainment, shelter, protection, and everything that one could ever require in life. This will remove conventional inequality from society. By reducing the number of men to 10 percent of the total population, their socio-biovalue will be raised. They will live out their lives happily and safely, and male disposability will be a thing of the past....

Early in our relationship, before we were married, my wife, who had a mane of beautiful hair, cut it short. EVERYONE told her how great it looked. I waited until we were alone, and told her I did not like it short. She was upset. I told her I loved the way she looked with her long flowing hair. She was upset. She continued to be upset.

One element that's left out of the SMV calculations in this is that many women aren't just doing things for men. Very often, what women do (especially fashion and beauty related) is for other women. It's not about looking attractive. It's about asserting status and power over other women.

As study that came out a few months ago found that women put on considerably more makeup than men preferred. Why is this? Because women always seemed to feel that they needed more makeup, and the pressure from other women drove them actually to decrease their attractiveness to men. Maybe some women are savvy in trying to make their friends and acquaintances look less attractive so that they get a better pick of men, but my guess is that almost women are simply more interested in winning the status game against other women.

So why cut hair short? It may make a fashion statement to other women. Depending on current fashion trends, it may be a bid to fit in with other women. It may, depending on the style, make a woman look more masculine, which lets her project more authority. It may just be a demented self-harm thing akin to cutting or anorexia.

Regardless, any woman who cuts her hair short is sending loud signals, and any man who fails to read that, at the very least, the woman's priorities are elsewhere than dating, husband, and family is making a big mistake jumping into a relationship with her.

Not that many of these women can't change. A retroactive compliment ("Your long hair was one of my favorite things about you.") or a tepid response to short hair ("Sorry, I don't date boys," or even just a "You cut your hair? Meh.") can be enough to encourage a woman back toward a more attractive appearance. But it's worth reflecting a bit on why a particular woman has her hair short before getting involved with her. There may be all kinds of crazy behind it that no sensible man should want to go near.

Just recently, my wife's aunt--who is in her early 40's and attractive--cut her lovely red hair short. I couldn't understand why until my wife told me her hubby was getting buff by hitting the gym. So I'm guessing it's some sort of strange way to either rebel or get the bulk of attention back on herself. I'll go with the latter; she loves having all the eyes on her and couldn't handle it when her normally ominous hubby started getting looks.

Because women always seemed to feel that they needed more makeup, and the pressure from other women drove them actually to decrease their attractiveness to men.

I can't get inside my own head deep enough to figure this out - short hair, too much makeup - I just don't know. I know a few men who think short hair looks good on women and who have asked their girlfriends to cut it short, and a few who just don't mind or bother to tell their GFs if long vs. short is OK. Same with makeup. I don't wear much of it, but back in my days of working in an office in a fashion-related industry, the caked-on makeup look was all over the place, and the desired male attention seemed to always follow the women who wore the most and latest trends in lip color, etc. Seriously, orange lipstick? But hetero men always cozied up to those women. But then, fashion industry, suppose I don't need to say more.

I don't know that I've ever felt directly pressured by other women to look or dress a certain way, or to wear much makeup or certain styles. It's indirect pressure, I guess, but always goes back to what will men find attractive? Like the movies that show women who kick ass riding motorcycles and besting men, who have the film's hero sighing and lusting after them - that's the woman you want to be, right? The sassy short-haired heroine who is confident and independent is the one the cute guy gets in the end, so BE HER and you'll be happy too!

I know that's Hollywood and not real life. I've been paying more attention lately to TV and film offerings for adolescents, when most of the ideas about what is attractive and appropriate when dating are formed. It's a complete denial of reality, but you can see where some women get the notion that bald, fierce, and independent are what men find attractive. But again, Hollywood and fashion - and gays dominate there, and so do their aesthetic preferences.

Buzzardist, I'll add in that rags like Cosmo and Allure don't help - they market pure trash to women in terms of how to look, dress, and act to be a "fierce, fun female (and by the way spend all your money with our advertisers, kay thanx)." It's the perceived fact of male attention, regardless of reality, that will drive a woman to do things. The cute girl in the office wears her eye makeup a certain way, and everyone from the janitor to the CEO stops to flirt with her? Well, sign me up for the latest Smashbox Eyeshadow Quad in horrid but trendy colors!

I have noticed in the comments sections of some articles about short hair, though, that some people are piping up about how awful these woman look, with the standard and expected fembot response being shame on them for being so easily threatened by powerful, confident women.

It's a sign that strong male leadership is desperately needed by women. Left without leadership, we don't know whom to follow, and certainly our own hearts are poor leaders, as they are up for sale to the first show of power that comes along, whether it be a loving but firm husband who makes his wishes about what he finds attractive known, or a lobby of women who convince you that fat, bald, and shrieking is an acceptable way to go through life.

Also lol at the girl musing about reducing 90% of the male population, and putting us in "our own specific sections of society" to give us "activities, healthcare, entertainment, shelter, protection, and everything that one could ever require in life."

Just where the fuck does she think all those things (that women primarily enjoy) come from? Also all of them being "state funded", by whom? What are all the lawyercunts going to do when there's hardly any, rape, crime or divorce courts? (heh)

To think that about 6, maybe 9 months ago, I would have acted all blue pill on this matter. Your typical "Heil Hillary" (Rohdam Clinton) mangina, PC crap. Passive-aggressive behavior about my lack of success with women, tantrums when faced with "humiliation" or rejection, handled like the hetero-fag best friend, asexual girlfriend by women.

Hahaha

You should see me these days. I am not the same guy. You'd think I've always been this way. Take what I want type of guy, demand that girls come over and talk to me (most of the time they'll stop and come over) with a "it's my due, my right" mindset. Douchebaggy and jerkish.

Hahaha

Instinctively I've always felt that something wasn't right with blue pill philosophy but I didn't have any other example. Society, MSM propaganda, women, they were all telling me how great and nice a guy I was. Then some day I stumbled upon Rollo's "The Rationale Male" blog and my life just took a turn for the better. It all just clicked. A veil was lifted from my mind, my consciousness, my eyes. You should see me ... you wouldn't believe it.

Thx Rollo (since he does read your stuff). And thank you Vox and Roissy. I've been reading all three of you religiously since then and I've never been so self-actualized, felt so good about my life. I've never had so much focus, such a healthy self-esteem, such a strong sense of direction. I am really starting to enjoy life, making friends with whom I can really connect, going on crazy adventures with women, taking risks.

the desired male attention seemed to always follow the women who wore the most and latest trends in lip color, etc. Seriously, orange lipstick? But hetero men always cozied up to those women.

Making a fashion spectacle of herself is a signal of sexual availability and perhaps even a touch of desperation. A man is going to think a woman wearing orange lipstick will be easier to get into bed than one wearing more traditional makeup. It's interpreted as a signal she really, really wants attention.

One element that's left out of the SMV calculations in this is that many women aren't just doing things for men. Very often, what women do (especially fashion and beauty related) is for other women. It's not about looking attractive. It's about asserting status and power over other women.

As study that came out a few months ago found that women put on considerably more makeup than men preferred. Why is this? Because women always seemed to feel that they needed more makeup, and the pressure from other women drove them actually to decrease their attractiveness to men. Maybe some women are savvy in trying to make their friends and acquaintances look less attractive so that they get a better pick of men, but my guess is that almost women are simply more interested in winning the status game against other women.

Yeah, it's useful to remember that women see each other as competition, but they're solipsistic enough not to realize that bad advice from other women, such as short haircuts or too much makeup, harms them too.

Or, especially in the case of women with otherwise excellent faces and bodies, maybe it's a calculated move done when they don't have a boyfriend they're really into, and in the meantime they simply want to keep that dreaded "street harassment" to a lower level.

Anecdotally, I've noticed that the girls I know with short hair don't really seem into the men they're with, and the men seem to tilt toward BETA. I wonder if there are any readers here who have compared the hair length of the wives/girlfriends of ALPHAs versus BETAs, and find the same thing I do.

I have known a number of men who have a serious fixation on long hair. I figured that since I didn't share such an obsession, that it didn't matter much to me.....until the cutting their pretty noses post woke me up to the fact that I have always cared a little bit about it. None of the women I dated had short hair (shorter than shoulder length). I never even asked women out with short hair. I friendzoned them without realizing it.

So I've been watching women in the last 10 years, and those who cut their hair short and keep it short, tell me that they are checking themselves out of the category of "women who enjoy being feminine".

Mommies who cut their hair short are telling the world that they don't want more children, at least not with their current husband.

It has been said MANY times before, but if cutting your hair short resulted in more attractiveness, more strippers, models, actresses, and beauty pageant winners would have short hair.

Instead, less than 1% of the above have short hair, except for models who of course are trying to appear as masculine as possible to appeal to the gays in the industry.

And long hair is easy. No kidding it's dead easy. Day to day I wash it and toss it in a bun or braid for the day (SAHM). For dress ups it just needs a little styling cream and a blow dry. I've got waist length hair, and not being of those naturally stunning girls I appreciate the SMV boost :)

I see Audrey Hepburn frequently brought up as an example. What no one points out is that Audrey Hepburn was arguably one of the, if not the, most beautiful woman of the last 100 years. Sure Audrey Hepburn could get away with it, she was already at the top of the HOT list, she was a 10 plus. If a gal is a 5 and 78% of them are closer to that by definition, she's got no place to go but down.

Curly long hair isn't easy, and mommies cut their hair short to keep it from getting tugged constantly by grabby baby hands.

Having said that, nobody in our house has short hair (we are a curly bunch), but it's not easy care, although the internet has been quite the blessing for streamlining curly maintenance to the extent possible.

Even among whites, there's plenty of curly people. The short/long discussion is pretty much strictly for the straight hair people, which is a longstanding prejudice in hair discussion.

Some 30+ years ago my lovely bride (GF back then) got her hair cut short and permed, and asked me what I thought - without thinking about it, I told her it looked like a poodle. Wellll, that didn't go over well, but it was a long time before she cut it again.

Women cut their hair because they don't want male attention. It's that easy. It's no different than wearing pants, getting an education, working in a high paying career, wearing stylish clothing, not being able to cook, dislike house cleaning, being promiscuous, and putting off marriage and starting a family. The natural order is disrupted.

You omitted "being deliberately bitchy and disagreeable" from the list, but otherwise you've pretty comprehensively nailed it. I used to think that young millennial guys, steeped lifelong in feminism as they've been, were pretty much OK with shorthaired chicks. I've been disabused of that notion on multiple occassions of late.

It’s not the women who crop their hair who I find distasteful, it’s the Beta men who pander to them in a lame effort to prove their ‘uniqueness’ to the entire gender in the hopes that one of these girls will find him attractive for it.

Their mental process is one of “hey, I can’t get with hot long haired girls so by identifying with the ‘croppers’ I’ll get the ‘better-than-a-landwhale’ cast offs these other fools turn down”.

Girls cropping their hair always fall back on the “women are not here for your pleasure” meme when confronted with it. Once men oblige them of this for long enough you’ll see them grow it out again.

This is the one in your list that I don't really get. Isn't wearing stylish clothes something that would attract male attention?

I also note that my mom, who has sported shoulder length hair for as long as I can remember, is roughly the antithesis of your list (although I'm not sure if she dresses "stylishly" or not). Not uncoincidentally, she and my dad have been married for 31 years.

It's pretty simple really. If you make it known to her that you don't like short hair on a woman and she cuts her hair short knowing your position, then she obviously doesn't consider you opinion to be relevant and doesn't respect you the way a woman should respect a man. Either she is not a keeper or it's too late and your hitched with a woman who does not respect you.

I lose interest in any woman with hair off her shoulder. Far as I am concerned, they all look like dykes after a girlfriend and I won't waste my time. Just ...ick. Never have asked one out, and have told more than one woman "Cut it that short, and I'm walking."

Followed through, too, to much outrage and accusations of being shallow. Screw 'em.

Though as an aside, after one such breakup, I told one woman I was hitting on just what I did. You could see the hamster wheel start spinning.

Curly long hair isn't easy, and mommies cut their hair short to keep it from getting tugged constantly by grabby baby hands.

Correction: mommies say they cut their hair for this reason. Grabby baby hands can get a hold of any length hair unless it is tied back tightly - much easier to do when hair is long - straight or curly.

The short/long discussion is pretty much strictly for the straight hair people, which is a longstanding prejudice in hair discussion.

Not at all. Granted women with tight curls have more of a burden in keeping long hair especially if straighteners or straightening irons are needed, but there is no doubt a woman who will put in the effort is much more attractive than the short/tight curly haired woman.

And why should a married woman put in the effort? Hmmm, I don't know, why should her husband go to work every day?

Eric, Stylish clothes displays status rather than attractiveness. High status limits attraction to fewer men. Besides, men least know and appreciate the latest fashion trends. Best for women to avoid appearing too uppity. As for sex appeal, modesty works better.

Anecdotally, I've noticed that the girls I know with short hair don't really seem into the men they're with, and the men seem to tilt toward BETA. I wonder if there are any readers here who have compared the hair length of the wives/girlfriends of ALPHAs versus BETAs, and find the same thing I do.

Yes, I've noticed the same thing. In fact, I use that as something of an evaluation of men when I meet them - fat wife with short hair, I assume they're not leadership material.

SD, you're just revealing your straight-hair prejudices. There is nothing wrong with curly hair staying curly. It's only the tyranny of the straight hair brigade that forces curlies into stupid, length-destroying attempts to make it straight. It's certainly not crazy stuff like HUSBAND PREFERENCE. It's the preference of other women and it's pretty funny you're using the preferences of other women to make assertions about how a woman should cater to her husband's preferences in the matter of hair care.

As I said, we are a curly house, all of us, not just the wife and kids. And my husband's preference is that I stay curly and not end up with short hair trying to pretend to be straight-haired. Curl Power! All long hair isn't straight, although certainly gravity has its influence when the curls get long enough. I keep mine braided up, but not all women can rely on the braids to stay braided, especially if they have thin, fine, straight hair. Many of them seem to find the shorter length results in less agony from grabby babby hands than futile attempts to keep it in braids and buns that come undone all the time.

Women wore caps or wraps in the old days to deal with this, which worked for nearly any hair length or texture. I also use that trick sometimes.

Hmm. My wife has worn her hair semi-short all her life. Below the ears, but not quite to the shoulders. We have only been married a couple of years. I realized I would like her hair better if she let it grow, so I let her know that. She was taken aback, but her only argument was that she had always worn her hair like that. Now I also let her know I didn't particularly like her hair dyed, and she has let it go gray, which I find quite appealing. But she seems to be drawing the line at letting it grow. I wonder if I could find a way to convince her to let it grow? It's not a major issue or anything, but I do think of it a lot.

I can see your point about the manageability of straightening hair when it’s naturally in tight curls.

That’s not really the issue, though.

The issues here are (1) male preference and (2) sexual desirability of a woman as correlated with her hair length. Accounting for NAWALT, most women are more sexually desirable, prettier, and more attractive with long hair than with short hair. Accounting for NAMALT, most men prefer women with longer hair than with shorter hair. Thus, I’m pretty confident in saying that a woman can increase her attractiveness with longer hair. I’m also pretty confident that most men, given a choice in how their wives would wear their hair, would prefer she keep it longer than shorter.

And yes, there’s some truth to the notion that female hairstyles are for things other than to look sexually desirable to men. At bottom, for men, it gets down to whether his wife/woman loves him and cares about him enough to look pretty for him. It’s about whether she values him enough to wear her hair the way he likes her to wear it because he likes how she looks with it and she kinda, you know, wants to do something nice for him and pleasing to him.

By the way, if your husband likes you as a "curly", then by all means, stay curly. But if he liked it straight, one would think that you might make an effort in that regard to do something he liked, or at least try.